Tips For A Healthy Toilet

5 simple maintenance tips that will prolong the service life of your toilets

You can catch and fix small toilet problems before they turn into major headaches. Here are five tips for homeowners that can help prevent a major plumbing repair bill.

1. Check Your Home Water Pressure

Water pressure that is too high can cause all kinds of problems with your home’s plumbing. Older pipes will spring leaks. Toilets and sinks can also be damaged over time by water pressure that is too high.

If your home has a water pressure regulator like the one pictured above, you can adjust your home’s water pressure. Turn it down if it’s too high.

2. Re-Caulk Your Toilets

Your toilet has a wax ring in the base that prevents it from leaking. The caulk around the base isn’t meant to keep your toilet from leaking. It is there to prevent water from sinks, baths, and showers from getting under the toilet. If water accumulates around the toilet base it can rot the floor underneath and cause a lot of damage.

If the caulk around any of your toilets isn’t making a secure seal, clean and remove the old caulk and then re-apply.

3. Inspect Your Toilet’s Flapper

If you have a toilet that runs all the time or leaks, the most common cause is a bad flapper. The flapper is a small rubber cover at the bottom of the toilet tank. It opens to release water and then closes to seal the toilet tank. Over time the rubber of the flapper can warp and it will stop making a good seal.

Replacement of the flapper is pretty straightforward and toilet flapper repair kits are readily available at home improvement stores. If the job is a little too daunting for you, contact our professional plumbers at All Trades for a fast and guaranteed fix.

4. Clean Your Toilet’s Tank

Over time a lot of debris, bacteria, and mold can build up inside your toilet tank. Dirty toilet tank water empties into your toilet bowl when you flush. It makes cleaning and maintaining your toilet bowl much harder.

Turn off the water to the toilet, flush it, and empty the toilet bowl. Give it a good cleaning once a year and you can help extend the service life of your toilet.

5. Keep Your Toilet Bowl Clean

Keeping your toilet bowl clean is just good housekeeping, but there is another reason to keep it shiny and clean. A dirty toilet bowl can lead to clogs and corrosion inside the bowl. The bowl has many tiny water holes called siphon jets. Siphon jets allow water from the tank to empty into the bowl when you flush. If they become clogged, it can become very difficult (sometimes impossible) to clear them.

Here’s how you can clean your toilet’s siphon jets:

• Shut off the water to the toilet.

• Flush and drain the toilet.

• Tape over the siphon jets with duct tape.

• Pour 1 gallon of vinegar into the toilet tank.

• Flush the toilet, let it sit overnight.

• The next morning, remove the duct tape, turn the water to the toilet on, and flush to remove any remaining vinegar inside the siphon jets.

Conclusion

With just a little care your home’s toilets can have a long and useful service life. If any of these steps are a little more than you feel comfortable doing, contact us at All Trades for fast, fully guaranteed, same-day service. All Trades services Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, and most of Clark County Nevada.